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Review 1 of 13
Price Paid:
$259.00
from mack and daves Summary:
I was a bit hesitant in purchasing this sub after reading the reviews on this site, but I've known Boston for years and decided to dismiss some of the negative reviews in favor of former experiences I've had with Boston components for car audio, and purchase the sub. First, it does have ample bass. Plenty in fact. My listening room is approximately 16'x15', medium height carpet, 8' ceiling. The sub is placed in the left front corner, out from the back wall approx 3" and the side wall about 2". It's plugged into a Harman Kardon AVR230, with Bose 501 V mains (don't start, I've got Ifinity on layaway) and Bose 201 series II surround (you can say what you wish about those, but I like the little surrounds!) The subwoofer is crossed over at 100Hz, is set to +2 on the HK receiver, with the volume a tad left of 12 O'clock on the subwoofer itself.
I tried the sub first on a movie I recently purchased (Terminator 3) because, like most people, I wanted to hear explosions and helicopters, and so on. I immediately thought, "Well, its okay, but I expected it to SOUND better!" At that time I had not achieved the setup I described above, and the subwoofer did sound "boomy."
Now, however it does not. (The phase switch is at the 180 degree position) With the setup described above, the sub sounds sweet, adds depth and fullness to both movies and music, and is powerful enough that I had to move some things around in my kitchen to avoid rattles.
Volume does not appear to be a problem with the subwoofer, either. I can crank up "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and horse hoofs pound by accurately and loudly, and yes I can feel the bass in my chest. Also, on "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" the pod race scene will blow you away. The PV400 manages this while maintaining accuracy to as loud of levels as I personally can stand in my listening room.
There are some noticeable detractions from an otherwise nearly flawless speaker. With all the literature and advertisements I have seen, evidently Boston has claimed dual flared ports, flared at both ends. My product may be a year 2000 (possibly 2001) production date model, but I bought it new, and the ports are NOT flared at both ends. I know this because I did hear what I thought was distortion (speaker distortion) while trying out the sub on "Enigma: Sadness" track. I removed the bottom and replayed the song and found the 7" driver to be in perfect working order. I then added foam batting (there is none) to try and "check" the rattle. It did help solve the distorted sound, but the bass response decreased by about a 3rd. Finally, I removed the batting, sealed the bottom cover back on the sub and made sure I had the screws tight (but not TOO tight), and what I discovered is, wind noise from the ports was the problem all along.
So if you have a very discerning ear, the port noise may be of some concern but, I advise this: When I heard the port noise was during my first few hours of home auditioning, when we all run our new equipment through its paces. Since that time I do not hear the noise, as I usually do not have the volume so high. Also, the main and surround speakers were disconnected and I was listening to only the sub, so I suspect most listeners will never hear the port noise.
Finally, styling and quality of build. The subwoofer is a bit taller than I expected it to be, it's slender and tall, with an almost piano lacquer finish on top, with the sides black laminate. It really does look good. The amplifier appears to be a decent little amp, the power supply is of good size and and the capacitors, although I didn't read the capacities, are of good size as well, at least as large as those inside my Harman Kardon AVR 230. Power does seem ample for the sub, perhaps even a little too much for those with heavy volume fingers.
The sub box itself is adequate but nothing special, made of a similar thickness mdf as most mid-fi speakers, save for the bottom panel which contains two flared at ONE end bandpass ports, and cool shiny top panel, which we all get to look at even when the track lighting is down low.
Overall, this is an excellent subwoofer, great accurate sound for both movies and music, I tend to like it a little better for music, but nonetheless its a great little sub for those not needing or not able to afford a $600 on up 12-incher. Most subs at its price will definitely not sound as good, though there may be some that will "blat" out bass booms at higher volumes. I highly recommend this sub for those who place a high value on the quality of sound over sheer volume, and especially for those who love quality along with enough volume to watch the occasional action flick at near movie theater volumes. Strengths:
very smooth laid back sound that rocks when it needs to, plenty enough volume for most, goes almost deep enough for anyone, great styling, easy room placement. Weaknesses:
Advertised as dual flared bandpass ports at both ends, ports are flared at one end only, offering some port noise at high volumes. Similar Products Used:
Sony Sub (current model with 2-10"),
Bose Acoustimass
Sony Dream (complete home theater)Subwoofer.
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